till it curved
by margerykempe
Summary: "like rain it sounded till it curved"


Eun Sang always loved the rain. The sound of it hitting the roof would lull her to sleep at night. During the day, she would find a quiet corner of library and watch it fall as she pretended to do homework.

She loved it up until she took the job delivering food.

The rain became her worst enemy. It snuck into her shoes and stung her eyes and drenched her polyester uniform, making her damp and chilled. She would hand the food to the customer, attempting to smile and keep from dripping on the floor. It meant lower tips too.

It was already a bad night at work—it had been raining her whole shift—when her boss calls her over. "This is the last one for the night. It's that Choi Young Do again. Why does he always request you?"

"Because he enjoys making me miserable," she mumbles under her breath. "It's fine. I'll go now." She forces a smile and takes the bag.

As she walks out the door, she mentally calls him every name in the book. Halfway through her short walk to the hotel, a bus drives past her and hits a puddle, drenching her from head to toe. She stops for a moment and considers bursting into tears.

Of course this would happen on the last delivery of the night.

Of course this would happen when she has to deliver to Choi Young Do.

Of course.

She keeps walking and enters the hotel, garnering disgusted glances from the hotel employees, but they know better than to stop her. Choi Young Do has made it clear that she is to take the delivery directly to him and not leave it with the front desk.

As the door to the elevator closes, she looks at her reflection. Her hair is plastered to her face and water is dripping from the end of her ponytail. Her lips are nearly blue and she's shivering, trying to stay warm.

Of course this was the day she forgot her rain jacket.

Of course.

The doors slide open and she walks as quickly as possible to his door, hitting it angrily with her fist, wishing it was his face instead.

He swings it open, a smug smile on his face that quickly vanishes as he takes in her appearance. "Decided to stop for a swim on the way?"

"It's raining. Here's your food." She hands him the bag with one hand and holds out her other for the money.

"Are your lips blue?"

"I'm very possibly hypothermic right now, which is why I'd like to get this over with and go home and get into a very warm shower." She shakes her open hand in front of his face.

"I can't let you go like this. Come inside." He takes her hand and drags her in, closing the door behind her. He walks toward the bedroom, still talking. "I have a robe you can wear after you take a shower. I'll have your clothes cleaned and dried and then I'll have a car take you home."

The cold is slowing her brain, but she knows she shouldn't be in his hotel suite. "I have to go—back to the store. I have to give them the money. And clock out. " She wraps her arms around herself, shivering visibly now. "And why are you being nice? You live to make me miserable. I would have thought that my suffering would delight you." The outburst costs her and she squats down, trying not to pass out.

He walks back out holding a large, fluffy robe. "You have to be alive for me to torment you. I'll handle the restaurant. Go take a shower. There's a lock on the door if you're worried about your virtue."

She pushes herself back up with difficulty. Eun Sang realizes that she must really be sick because she's actually considering his offer for a moment. Instead, she turns and walks back to the front door, intending to leave. Her knees go weak and she squats again, fighting the dizziness.

She hears him come up behind her and his arms slide under hers, pulling her up into an upright position. She can feels herself leaning heavily on him.

"Take a shower, Cha Eun Sang. I'll help you into the bathroom."

"What about my virtue?" she mumbles and then giggles. "Oh right. I don't have any." She knows she shouldn't be saying things like that, but it just slips out. If she'd been paying closer attention, she would have noticed the way Choi Young Do tenses. She pushes away from him suddenly. "I can walk there by myself." She straightens and stumbles her way into the bedroom.

He follows close behind her and catches her as she stumbles over the threshold into the bathroom. She paws at the wall. "Where—the lights?" He reaches from behind her and flips them on.

She squeals in delight as the room lights up. "You have a soaking tub and a walk-in shower?" Clapping her hands, she climbs into the empty tub and stretches out. "Oh my god."

"Cha Eun Sang."

"Hmmm?" she replies distractedly, trying to imagine what it's like to be rich enough to have a tub this big. She swears she can almost feel the warmth from the water.

"Cha Eun Sang," he says again. "Your face is white. You need to get out of those clothes and take a shower before you get sick."

"Oh. Right." She stands up in the tub and pulls her shirt up over her head and off.

His eyes widen and he turns away from her abruptly.

"Really, Young Do? I wouldn't have guessed you were such a prude." She throws the wet shirt at the back of his head. "Well?" she says at his back. "Are you going to leave?"

Without speaking or turning, he walks to the door and closes it, his back still to her.

Climbing reluctantly out of the tub, she strips off her clothing quickly and steps into the shower. She must be hypothermic because, for the life of her, she can't figure out how to turn on the water.

"Choi Young Do!" she bellows. She waits a moment—no response. "Choi Young Do!"

Finally, she hears his muffled voice at the door. "What?"

"I don't know how to work your shower."

It's quiet for a moment. "Turn the knob in the middle, then flip the lever up."

She looks at the various knobs and dials suspiciously. Idly, she turns a few. Nothing happens. "Nope. Still not working. Come in here and fix this."

The door swings open slowly—she can just make out his figure through the frosted glass of the shower stall. He reaches the door and stops. "Are you clothed?" he asks. His voice sounds strange to her.

"Of course I'm not clothed. Why would I wear clothing to take a shower?" In exasperation, she swings the door open and grabs him, pulling him in with her. "Fix it. I'm cold."

His eyes drop to her bare chest and then snap back up. He spins away from her. "Let me get you a robe or a towel or something."

"It'll take too long—just turn the shower on. If you'd just turn the knob instead of staring at my breasts, I'd be warm already." She sees him pinch the bridge of his nose. "Go on." She pushes at his shoulder.

Carefully keeping his back to her, he spins a dial, pushes a lever, and warm water comes rushing out from a large showerhead in the ceiling. She squeals in delight. Immediately, she rushes under it, splashing water in every direction. "It's like being in the rain!"

She looks over at him and this time he's facing her. He doesn't seem to notice the fact that he's getting wet—instead, his eyes are fixed on her, his pupils large and dark.

She decides that her next actions are the result of her semi-hypothermic state and not born of a deep, dark desire to have Young Do's hands touching her. She grabs a hold of his collar and pulls him toward her. The water beats down on top of them. Looking up at him, she smiles knowingly and brings his mouth to hers.

There was something decidedly erotic about the feel of his wet shirt against her skin, but after a few minutes of kissing, it becomes more of an annoyance. She breaks away from him, breathing hard, and begins pulling at the buttons. He brings his hand up and helps her, popping the buttons off in their haste. Once she's pushed it back off his shoulders she resumes kissing him. Skin against skin is better, she decides.

Some small part of her knows this is a terrible idea. Another part is glad—glad that they'll stop endlessly circling each other.

She pulls away from him and looks up. "Take me to your bed."

As he lays her down, she can still hear the rain.


End file.
